Bad news for anyone who doesn’t want to share a bed with a partner who sounds like an asthmatic walrus – snoring is set to dramatically rise in the UK because we are getting fatter.
Almost a half of young and middle-aged adults will soon suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea, where the upper airway collapses during sleep affecting breathing.
The condition, which disturbs the sleep of people who have it, and often leaves their partners lying awake, is linked to obesity.
In 2020, a third of adults aged 30 to 69 were living with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), which causes people to wake up to 40 times a night, frequently with a snort or gasp. But by 2035, that figure is predicted to reach 45 per cent.
People who are obese tend to have more fatty tissue in their necks, which presses on the airway and makes it narrower and more likely to collapse. They are also at greater risk of high blood pressure and heart problems.
Treatment involves using a mask called a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, which keeps airways open during sleep.
An international research team calculated that 54 per cent of men aged 30 to 69 will have OSA in Britain by 2050 – up from 39 per cent now. In women of this age, 49 per cent are projected to have OSA by 2050, up from 36 per cent now.
That means the number of people in the UK living with the condition will increase from about 7.7 million to 11.9 million.
Snoring is set to dramatically rise in the UK because we are getting fatter, according to the study
A co-author of the study, Professor Jean-Louis Pepin, from Grenoble Alpes University in France, said: ‘Obstructive sleep apnoea is one of the most common but under-diagnosed sleep disorders, with major implications for health and quality of life.’
OSA not only causes snoring but makes people intermittently stop breathing through the night, starving their bodies of oxygen, while interrupted sleep means sufferers function less well during the day, which could be a safety issue.
The study predicted the proportion of people living with OSA was rising faster in Britain than some other European nations.
The number of sufferers here is expected to rise by 58 per cent between 2020 and 2050, compared to 28 per cent in Germany and 42 per cent in Spain.
But France and Italy are worse, at 61 per cent and 78 per cent respectively.
The study was presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam last week and involved researchers from Resmed, a company which makes CPAP machines.
Separate research presented to the conference looked at 19,325 patients with OSA across 25 cities and found they suffer worse symptoms if they live in areas with higher levels of air pollution.
People are more likely to snore if they are overweight, and middle-aged or older. Noisy sleeping becomes worse with age.
An estimated 45 per cent of adults snore occasionally, while 25 per cent snore regularly.
